Friends are Forever
by kodoku na oujo
Summary: For he will always and forever be my “best friend.” And nothing can change that. Twoshot. Just short drabbles about both Sasuke's and Naruto's view on their frienship.
1. Sasuke

**I'm sorry that I wasn't able to update last weekend. I was busy and couldn't find time to write. I'm gonna make it up to you by posting up a two-shot I wrote a while ago. I hope you enjoy this!**

**Important: First, I would like to say that this story is dedicated to one of the greatest friends I have ever had and will ever have in my lifetime (and maybe the next), Mel. She is actually the person that proved to me that people could love each other… and not be **_**IN**_** love with each other. Mel, you are my sister. Maybe not in blood, but in spirit. I don't know where I would be without you! I love you ((but not that way XD ha, ha))!**

**Now, about the story. It's in two parts. Mainly just ramblings, but I think it's beautiful. I know this sort of thing has been done so many times, but hopefully I've given it my own special zing and made those of you who have read things like this before, think twice about this story. And just so you know, the first part is Sasuke's point-of-view and it takes place right before the second part of Naruto starts.**

**Last thing. This is not meant to be Boy Love. I, as you should know, am a huge supporter of NaruSasu and SasuNaru, but… Having them love each other (that way) defeats the entire moral of the story. You know, the one that my friend showed me. They're just friends… Only in this story though :evil laughter:.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I mean there are just many things standing in my way of owning it. Not being Kishimoto-sensei, not knowing how to speak/write Japanese… the Pacific Ocean. The list goes on.**

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The term "best friend" is not one that should be thrown around without any thought or care into how it will be used. For to be "best friends" with some one, is truly a special bond. One that, no matter how much I would long for it to be not, is a bond so strong and deep that it can never be destroyed or forgotten. I've had the to learn this the hard way.

For you must understand, I have only given that title of "best friend" to one individual. They call him Uzumaki Naruto.

He is a peculiar boy indeed and I often wonder just how our odd and twisted friendship came into being. When I first met him, I did not think too greatly of him. He was an idiot. A screw-up. A loser. I thought myself to be far superior to him in everyway imaginable, and for a while his actions proved my thoughts to be correct.

It seemed that the blonde moron could simply do _nothing_ right, and it was my duty as the best of our three-man-team to save the weakest link. I constantly saved him from utter peril that would have undoubtedly have befallen him if I had not, and I received not even the slightest hint of gratitude. But I would not have it any other way.

If Naruto had simply thanked me and said that he was in my debt for saving his life, I would have lost what little respect for him I still had. Instead of thanking me, he would only complain and nag, with no sign of shutting his big, fat mouth. I've almost forgotten how annoying he used to be in those first few months when we were a part of Team Seven. But now I have steered from my original thought pattern. What kept my small amount of respect for the imbecile was the simple fact that he never gave up. If he would fail, he would try again. If was weak, he would grow stronger. Such passion is not seen very often in children of his age.

But soon, the very characteristic that I valued in him soon became the source of all my jealousy toward the blonde. His will to better himself and his ability to do just that, infuriated me.

For how could a village reject ever hope to surpass the last heir to the Uchiha clan and a natural genius. It was inconceivable to even think it possible.

But it happened.

I couldn't stand it. I felt as if I was improving too slowly and that I was watching Naruto pass me by. The truth of the matter is that, even though I hate to admit this and will deny it still to this day that I ever said such a thing, but… that frightened me. It frightened me more than I ever care to speak of to anyone. Even him.

It may have been the fact that I still felt that I, the last Uchiha, should be stronger than that idiotic boy that I went to seek out power. But the more likely answer as to my reasons for leaving the village of Konohagakure would be that I felt as if the very first friend that could understand how I feel was leaving me behind. And perhaps he was more precious to me than even I realized, and maybe I had grown used to being the one to save him from danger, but it seemed as if Naruto could handle himself.

His goals of becoming Hokage we not merely idiotic fantasies of a delusional kid any longer. I could tell that he might actually stand a chance at gaining that title. Naruto was moving on with his life and working toward his goal. While I had even taken one step toward my own.

My goals of revenge against Uchiha Itachi. My older brother.

Ever since Aniki had savagely and brutally murdered our entire clan, I have sworn vengeance upon him. But after seeing him after so many years, I realized that even though I had gotten stronger, I was still so far behind my old brother. I was still cast in his shadow. Always forced to live up to his example.

No one can understand why I need to take revenge against my brother. No one can possibly even begin to understand. Which is another reason why I choose to kill Naruto.

He tried to understand. He tried to fix me. _Him_! That loser who dreamt of being in charge of the entire village and earning the respect from the villagers that he so greatly desired. How could he even think that _he_, who had nothing in his life, could understand how it feels to have it taken away? To see their deaths repeatedly in your head every night and know that there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. He could never understand. No one could.

But when he tried to bring me back, I saw that spark of passion in his eyes and knew that he was trying to be better than me once again. Like we always had done. Ever since we met we tried to best one another, and I had always come out on top. This battle was going to be no different.

He tried to tell me that we were equals throughout the entire fight, but I would not listen. I still saw myself as being above him. I was a fool.

If it were not for the power from Orochimaru, Naruto would have beaten me and dragged me back, defeated and humiliated, to the village. I would not stand for that. It was that day that I learn a little secret about my "best friend." It was the fact that within him slept the soul of the fearful Nine-tailed Fox demon.

Of course, at the time I wasn't completely sure that the strange powers that Naruto had were in fact that very same demon that cause havoc upon the village so many years ago. But after some time and thinking back to that fateful day, I realized that it could nothing else then the Nine-tailed Fox.

I tried to wrap my head around this idea for quite sometime. It was not that it was hard to accept the fact that he held within him the monster that destroyed our village. But it was the image of Naruto as the Fox's chakra took hold of him. He truly looked frightening. His eyes turned a blood red color and his whisker marks became more pronounced. Even his fingernail took on the appearance of something closer to claws. The very aura around him terrified me. Now that I look back on that day, I truly hate myself for referring to Naruto as a monster.

But it was not until we were both at our greatest levels of strength did I realize, that the idiot I had meet so many months ago had out grown his use for me. It was not longer necessary for me to constantly protect him. He could do that himself. And I felt so very useless. To be undone by a nobody. A dead-last loser.

When I finally had a chance to kill him, I paused at the last moment. I knew then that I could never kill him. He was after all my "best friend". Somewhere along the line I had learned to treasure his company and even long for it.

As I leaned over him, my face only mere centimeters from his own, my hitai ate scratched and lying there by his head, I knew that we were not equals. He was above me. He had surpassed me. Maybe not in strength just yet, but in something that now seems to be more important. I'm not sure if I could exactly put a name to it and if I tried I would not do that quality justice, but it would be most similar to maybe acceptance and love. And those qualities made him so very strong indeed.

After learning about the Fox demon, I finally understood why the villagers hated him so much. Why they would always look down on the poor child. Naruto had every right to be angry with the village of Konohagakure and its inhabitants, but he did not blame them. He did not seek vengeance for the injustice that had been done upon him nor did he even hold a grudge toward the person who sealed that monster inside of him. Instead, he would only smile that stupid, annoying grin of his and laugh, claiming that one day they would all respect and acknowledge him.

Naruto never let his depression show, which is yet another quality I admire in the moron, though once again because of what pride I have left, I will never admit to it. Through all his hardships, he was able to pull threw and to keep smiling, holding back the pain and tears. That is not to say that Naruto did not have them. He did. But the blonde refused to show his weaknesses in front of his friends, the villagers, and his rivals, like myself.

Such strength to keep smiling after something so horrible had occurred in your life is truly a quality worth having. It would also seem that upon having that skill, he was also able to give his strength and courage to the other people would seemed in need of it. Though most hated him, a few select people just seemed drawn to him. Drawn to his warm and accepting nature.

I was and still am one of those people.

Though I may not be able to admit it now, or may not even in the near future, but I really do need that idiot. After the many years I spent apart from him, I have learned what true loneliness has felt like. It was a sadness that seemed worse than that day that my entire family was taken from me. Naruto had become my brother, and being away from the only person who could understand and accept me, was pure torture.

I learned too late in life to not take the bond of friendship for granted, and I feel as if I would give up everything to fix that mistake. I learned after seeing Naruto again that true power comes from the will to protect the ones you hold dear to you. Revenge will not bring you power nor satisfaction.

But as I have said… I learned that lesson too late and now I am forced to continue down this path that I have chosen for myself. I have no choice but to keep going forward. Even though Naruto may not be able to forgive the awful things I have done to him, I hope he knows how much he meant to me and still does.

For he will always and forever be my "best friend." And nothing can change that.

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**This was actually very easy to right. Maybe because I have a strong purpose to write this story. Yes, it's short, but I didn't want Sasuke to have this huge monologue. He can only talk for so long on such a matter. It is Sasuke after all XD.**

**Hope you enjoyed it. Look for Naruto's chapter coming soon.**


	2. Naruto

**Important: This is still dedicated to my dear friend, Mel. I wanted to post this up earlier, but I've been too busy with other stories and now college. Melly, we may be apart, but you're still the closer person in the world to me! I love you so much and you know it XD!**

**Okay, this is Naruto's point-of-view. I tried to make Sasuke's chapter sound very proper and used a form of wording that I felt Sasuke would use and I tried to make Naruto's sound more passionate, honest and straight from the heart. I did this to make it sound like the characters and to show how different, yet similar the two of them are. I hope it came out like that in the story.**

**This is not meant to be Boy Love. I, as you should know, am a huge supporter of NaruSasu and SasuNaru, but… Having them love each other (that way) defeat the entire moral of the story. You know, the one that my friend showed me. They're just friends… Only in this story though :evil laughter:.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It's best this way. Because Naruto would have not done as well if it had been created by a hyperactive American girl aside from a talented Japanese man.**

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To me a "best friend" is some one who will see all of your qualities and accept both the good and the bad. I thought I had found that in one person, after so many years of having nothing. I'm not quite sure if I was wrong, but until I know for sure, he will continue being the "best friend" I have and will ever have.

He's name is Uchiha Sasuke. When I first met Sasuke, my first impression of him was that he was a prick. A few years later… and I still believe that to be true. Don't get me wrong, Sasuke is a great guy, but he has that natural talent of getting under your skin and making you want to strangle him to death.

Not that I would ever want to kill him! I mean… I couldn't. I know that he has tried to kill me and almost succeed, but I still could never imagine having him die by my hands. I would never forgive myself. And call me crazy and naïve, but I feel as if Sasuke could never consciously kill me and be able to live with himself. That may be something that people wouldn't be able to understand or think was possible, but then again, they don't know Sasuke like I do. Though, Sasuke may deny the fact that I am even possible of understanding him, let alone knowing him the best out of anyone. But that's just how he is.

Ever since the day we join Team Seven he always looked down on me. Like he was a god that people should respect and obey. And for the most part… people did.

Being the last of his clan, people always expected great things out of him. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't have like to have such great expectations forced upon me and I can sympathize with him about that. But the respect and acknowledgement that he received without doing anything really pissed me off. It was the one thing that Sasuke had that I craved for myself.

I never told anyone, beside maybe Iruka-sensei, but I would sometimes cry myself to sleep when I was younger. I felt as if no one would even admit that I was alive. And that feeling of utter loneliness tore my heart to shreds. But that's when I met Sasuke.

I feel that our friendship really started to grow when we faced off against Zabuza and that Haku kid (he was way too pretty to be a boy). But anyway… during that battle, when I thought that I was done for, Sasuke jumped in front of Haku's needles and saved my life. He would never tell me why he did it; the only response I could get out of him was that his body moved on it's own. I never really understood what he meant. He always did have a knack for getting me confused.

But I think… No. I know that Sasuke had to care even a little about me. Even if it was just as a part of his team or as drastic as his friend, he cared.

And likewise for me, I must have cared for him a hell of lot. Seeing him die unleashed something within in me. I'm not sure if I subconsciously call forth the Kyuubi's powers or if it was an accident caused by my rage, but I fought with everything I had. Maybe Sasuke felt that exact same emotion when his clan was murder. I'm getting sidetracked. Anyway, my point is that the battle with Haku proved to me that we cared for each other. He was my brother, as I was his. "Best friends" is you wish to call us. And from that point on, our weird friendship grew.

Though I'm sure he won't admit it, we both needed each other. He made me feel like I was needed and I'm sure I did the same for him (at least I hope I did). Even after gaining so many people that would accept me and acknowledge me, I feel that Sasuke will always be the one that knows and understands me the most. We both know that feeling of loneliness and we can both agree that it is the worse feeling in the world.

Besides the feeling of being abandoned my your "best friend," but I'm not sure Sasuke would understand that (unless he feels that I abandoned him somehow).

I think that when Sasuke left Konohagakure to seek out Orochimaru was the worse day of my life. I would rather suffer through fifty more years of all the cold stares and the lonely nights of my childhood if it would bring Sasuke back.

He was never one to acknowledge my skills. And after gaining acknowledgement from so many others, I found that Sasuke still would not admit that I was anywhere near his level. That is probably why we fought each other so often. Not only to prove to ourselves that were worth something, but to prove that fact to the other as well.

I often miss those carefree days where we were still part of Team Seven. When Sakura-chan (and mostly ever other girl in Konohagakure) would fawn over Sasuke for being "so cool." I would try to prove to her that I was better than Sasuke in hopes that she would like me the way she did him. I don't think that will ever happen though. And Sakura-chan and I would yell at Kakashi-sensei every time he showed up late for training and gave us some lame excuse about how he got lost. Those were times when we felt like our happy days of D-ranked missions and fun and memorable adventures would last forever. I have to admit, they were some of the happiest days of my life.

It was probably sometime during those happy days where the change in Sasuke happened. That certain change where he became even more moody and angry with the world than his emo self was already. Everything I did seemed to annoy him and all he wanted to do was prove to me that I was still leagues behind him.

Sasuke's ego is one thing that I think he could have lived without. I'm not sure who installed it into his brain that Uchihas are better than everyone else, but that person deserves to suffer a truly great punishment. Unless that person was part of the Uchiha clan (excluding his brother, Itachi), then they don't have to be punished. I think they suffered enough.

Anyway, Sasuke's pride and stubbornness eventually led him to Orochimaru. That creep promised Sasuke power and believe me… he got it.

During our fight at the Valley of the End, I saw exactly what some one with his powers could accomplish. Sasuke was almost terrifying with the immense amount of power the curse seal gave him. Though I'm sure he thought the same about when I summoned the Kyuubi's charka. Even _I_ scared myself.

But when I woke up in the hospital and realized that Sasuke had not finished me off, I knew that he was still the same prick I knew. And that he needed me, like I needed him. After all we were like brothers, maybe closer, and Sasuke knew it. I hope he still does.

All those years of being alone made me decide that I would stop crying over my problems and move on. I wanted to be known as the kind of person that could endure anything and still come out smiling, keeping the pain inside and not letting anyone see my weaknesses (1). I wanted to be strong, not only for myself, but for others, so that they would also find the courage to move on with their lives and accept their horrible memories… not as weaknesses, but as reasons to grow stronger.

At this point in my life, I'm not sure if I've really helped anybody or if I was just trying to feel like they needed me. Maybe Sasuke was right. Maybe I do feel like I can fix people. Maybe I can and maybe I can't. But what I do know is on that day that Sasuke left I wanted to be there for him.

I wanted to make sure that he was all right and safe, and my instincts told me that if he left the village it would be the biggest mistake he would ever make. And now that he's gone, I hope to the gods that I was wrong.

It's true that I'm still jealous of Sasuke. Born with natural talent and then continues to get stronger (and more stubborn) everyday. I really hope that one day he'll come back, either through my persuasion or of his own free will, because, and I'm not afraid to admit it even now that he's a traitor, Sasuke is my "best friend" in the world. And just like he almost died to save me in the fight at the Land of Waves, I would still do the same for him.

Sakura-chan of course would say that doing something like that is foolish, but when I think about all the times that Sasuke had to save me, it seems like I owe him as much. Though he'll never thank me. Both of us would never thank the other for our help. I guess we really are more alike than even I thought. I wish he could see it. Sasuke always did seem to think we were nothing alike. Maybe he was in denial or maybe I'm the one who has things wrong.

Damn it! Ever since you left, bastard, I've been second-guessing myself. I've found myself second-guessing what I want in life, what I'm capable of, and even second-guessing our friendship. Sasuke told me when he left for Orochimaru that our bond was broken… that he was going to sever it, but I didn't believe that for a moment back then. But lately I'm been thinking, and maybe Sasuke's right. Maybe our bond really is broken. Maybe I'm just trying to hold onto the first real friend I ever had. Sasuke would say that I'm weak for doing so. But that is one thing I'll never second-guess.

I trained for almost three years in order to get stronger and bring him back to Konohagakure. It was our friendship that I had always treasured and still do that made me push myself farther… to my very limits. Just so that I could improve myself and be strong enough to bring him back. And Sasuke can't deny that he didn't want to get stronger because of me. Though he may say it was because he wanted to defeat me, and maybe that's true, but nonetheless, I was the reason he wanted to get stronger (or at least one of the major reasons).

Call me selfish, but I just don't feel the same when you're gone, Sasuke. I don't think that I will ever be able to completely be the same old Naruto I was when I knew you. Everyone notices the change in me. And I wish I could fake a smile and fool them, but they're too smart. You would say that's no surprise, right?

Sasuke… I'm not sure where you are right now, but wherever you are I want you to know that I will find you, defeat you, and finally bring you back home to Konohagakure. Where you belong.

No matter how much you deny it and try to run away, I will always be your "best friend." You said so yourself. So deal with it (2).

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(1) My friend actual said that she wanted to be known as this kind of person. I think it's awfully brave of her to be the person that will smile through their hardships and move on, instead of complain about them.

(2) You have no idea how tempted I was to turn this last line into "Believe it!" But I figured that people would come after me with pitchforks and fire. :pause: I don't like it when I'm speared with pitchforks… Or when I'm on fire.

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**Naruto's version of his feeling took a little more time for me to write. Maybe it's because I feel more like I can understand Sasuke as to understanding Naruto. So yeah, that would make my friend Naruto and she is like him in many, many ways. You already know about one of them from the footnote above this section. Though, since she's leaving… I guess that makes her Sasuke. Which would make sense, because she has balck hair and dark eyes and I'm blonde with blue eyes... :confused herself: I don't know. We're like them, I'm just not sure who's who anymore XP.**

**So I hope you enjoyed this story little two-part story. The meaning behind it is very important to me and I hope that my feelings were portrayed well through this. Thanks for reading!**

**Owari.**


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